7 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (18 Jan - Review)

5. Jay Lethal vs. Orange Cassidy

Your mileage may vary on Jay Lethal vs. Orange Cassidy for many reasons, including:-

1. It was largely built around comedy.

2. Said comedy took place at ringside - and largely cannibalised the match itself.

But while the position was suboptimal (a more fitting opener would've been Top Flight vs. The Young Bucks - this set a jarring tone), Lethal vs. Cassidy was fun, light-hearted pantomime. Sonjay Dutt, Satnam Singh, and Jeff Jarrett were banned from interfering, so they hit ringside and turfed planted fans out of their front-row seats. An usher-cosplaying Danhausen attempted to eject them. Best Friends then shuffled along the front row, sitting near the heels, stirring the pot.

The match played out between this. Cassidy and Lethal entered typically strong performances, even when the focus wasn't entirely on them, culminating in the Orange Punch for another successful All-Atlantic Championship defence.

Cassidy tried to goad Dutt into getting himself fired with the soft kicks after the bell. Cooler heads prevailed, the heels bailed, and the feud continues.

Again, this would have been better positioned elsewhere - and the constant cutaways may have been too much for some. But subjectively, this fit the tone of Best Friends vs. their goober heel rivals so far.